


A Caged Bird

by thatkilljoyoverthere



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Attempted Murder, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Duelling, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Head Injury, Memory Loss, Memory Magic, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter), Psychological Trauma, Quidditch, Rare Pairings, Suggestions welcome!, Suspicious Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:26:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22287856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatkilljoyoverthere/pseuds/thatkilljoyoverthere
Summary: After Marietta betrays the DA, Cho is (understandably) quite shocked, and in the heat of the moment challenges Marietta to a duel on the grounds of the school. Marietta, in the name of her honor, agrees.
Relationships: Cho Chang/Marietta Edgecombe
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. The Beginning, Where Inevitability was the Only Possibility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Context: Marietta has cut off the skin on most of her forehead using non-magical means in order to remove the "sneak" jinx, as nothing else would do so. Some small part of her hopes that by doing so, she and Cho could go back to the way things were before she betrayed her. 
> 
> This will be elaborated upon later.

It was a quiet night, the kind you read about in a children’s storybook, the kind that slowly morphs into a nightmarescape, the screeches of the cicadas turning slowly into the screams of the damned until you can’t quite discern what is real from what you perceive. It was one of those nights where the twinkling of the stars no longer seems quite as benevolent as before, where you have to shake off the eerie feeling that something will go horribly, inexplicably wrong every time you hear the faint snapping of a twig behind you. It was on one of these nights that two figures could be seen, barely 10 yards apart, with weapons drawn, their faces set into harsh grimaces. 

It was unclear quite how they had gotten there, only that they were there at that moment. There was the weight of tension in the air, crackling as if the two served as conduits for an electric current. Indeed, it may have been electricity, for in that instant a bright flash came forth from the heavens and illuminated their faces, highlighting the stark contrast between the two. There was a girl with dark hair, clad in blue; there was a girl with formerly white bandages wrapped around her forehead, stained red with her own blood. In the milliseconds before the peal of thunder sounded and broke the moment, a realization dawned between them, that there would be no going back, and no time for apologies. And yet, their eyes met, and the first to raise her wand mouthed a silent “I’m sorry,” though it was more of a formality than a promise, and pointed her wand at her foe across the span of grass. 

And though she knew it would never be heard, the other girl nodded, as if in acceptance of her fate, and whispered, “I know.” 

Rain began to fall, a mere drizzle at first, but it quickly became a downpour. It was not a warm rain, nor was it particularly welcome. Cho's arm quivered, and she opened her mouth to utter the words that would, if correctly executed, undo the damage that had been done. She wanted Marietta to understand just what she had done, just how much this betrayal had hit like a punch to the stomach, and she wanted her to know in the most painful way possible, for Cho was tired of suffering, suffocating alone in her grief. If only a simple incantation could undo the war, could undo Cedric's death, could undo the boy known as Harry Potter, could- 

And Cho's concentration was momentarily broken, just enough to disrupt the pent-up rage that she had been channeling from her core, through her arm, and into her wand, where it would've transformed into a magnificent flash of light, not unlike the lightning of a few minutes earlier. The spell changed, ever so slightly, as it left the tip of her wand, and seemed to fizzle out into thin air. At first, nothing happened, and Cho raised her wand again as if to examine it for damage, only to feel a sharp, gut-wrenching pain not a breath later. As quickly as it had appeared, the pain was gone, and with it went something small, something that would've gone completely unnoticed in any other given instance.

A few feet away, Marietta gave a small shriek and collapsed. Cho turned quicker than she thought was humanly possible, yet time appeared to stall as she watched her former friend's body fall to her knees, eyes wide with something Cho couldn't quite identify, before hitting the ground with a dull thud. In that instant, it was completely silent, save for the frantic beating of Cho's heart in her chest, and she felt something inside her shatter past the point when one could pick up the shards and repair it. 

After that, Cho felt nothing. It wasn't the numbness she had felt after Cedric. There were no nagging voices inside her head that told her that he wasn't really dead. There were no tears on her face, and there was no slow drip of poison as she began to tear herself apart, piece by piece. No, this was different. She couldn't quite place it, but now was not the time to be contemplating that. Right now, she needed to get away, before anyone found out what had happened, but the rain outside would be a dead giveaway if she returned to the castle soaking wet. 

An easy fix, she thought, forcing herself to avoid thinking about the body by her feet. After all, who would question a Ravenclaw in good standing? You can't run from the consequences of your actions, but no one ever said you couldn't walk. And so, without a second glance behind her, Cho began to do just that, barely even registering the cold that had set into her bones and a wand that felt slightly heavier than normal. Cho felt nothing, and right now, that meant everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow my tumblr @thatkilljoyoverthere


	2. A Slight Deviation from the Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some dialogue, my dudes! Working my way up to some longer chapters here in the future. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Cho awoke the next morning oddly calm, a stark contrast from the usual nightmares that plagued her sleep. There was no cold sweat, no lingering echo of a scream, almost nothing at all to indicate that anything had ever been wrong before. Weak sunlight streamed through the window like fingers, or strands of hair. The light brought no warmth to the room, and Cho shivered in her nightgown. Oddly enough, she couldn't really remember putting it on, and her memory never failed her. Nevertheless, it was on, and she was safe and dry. In the light, everything was clear, and there were no menacing shadows lurking behind her at every turn.

It was still early enough to do some light studying before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast, yet when Cho shuffled down to the common room, stifling a yawn, a few younger students were already sitting there, deep in conversation. She had a nagging feeling that this wasn't a typical study group. Cho knew of the rumors, of course, about her and Cedric, about her and Harry, some true, others not, but was nevertheless put into a state of unease by the intense gazes of the other students as they turned to face her at the sound of the pad of her footsteps. 

A fourth year, a girl she had never really spoken to before, muttered a word of greeting, and Cho inclined her head in response.

"There you are. Have you heard?" It was the girl who had greeted Cho. Her voice was sharp, inquisitive, and altogether unsettling. This was not a question.

Cho feigned confusion. "Heard what?" This led to a slight pause before one of the boys, someone Cho recognized from the DA, but could not recall the name of, replied. 

"The Sneak is missing. Rumor has it that Umbridge finished her off, but we've found no evidence to support that." Cho wondered how they could've found out so quickly; breakfast was not for another hour, at least. She was still bothered that she'd forgotten not one, but two people's names. This day was certainly off to an unusual start. 

The girl interjected. "And that's not all, either. We found you unconscious on the floor yesterday morning; I nearly tripped over you. I know you and Harry have been flirting around, but please have some decency, Cho. You of all people should know to be careful around him. You don't need any reason to get on Umbridge's bad side. Or ours." 

Cho shifted uncomfortably in her slippers. "Yesterday?" Her voice cracked, and the girl stood up from the couch where she had been sitting, approaching Cho until she was a little too close for comfort. 

"Yesterday, Cho. Your friends and I had a little chat about it, in fact. You've been a wreck all year, and we won't be forgiving of the points you've lost Ravenclaw in class because of your emotional fits anymore. You're a disgrace, and unless you can learn to control your tantrums and act like a proper Ravenclaw instead, I don't think you'll keep your Seeker position much longer on the Quidditch team. We wouldn't want you to be overwhelmed on your broom in the middle of a match after all." 

Cho winced at the poorly hidden threat. "I'm fine. You needn't worry about me," she retorted. The words came out a bit too harshly, a bit too haughtily, and the girl in front of her barely suppressed a snicker before turning and rejoining her friends on the couch.

Feeling their stares like ice on her back, Cho walked back to the dorm, to her bunk, to safety, forcing her feet to slow with every step she took. Despite the more pressing issue of her teetering position as Seeker, she felt almost relieved that the rumor mill only thought she and Harry had been a little closer than friends for the night. She couldn't have come up with a better excuse than sex with the Golden Boy if she had tried! No one would ever know about Marietta, and that thought bothered her less than it probably should have. 

She'd pay a visit to Pomfrey later, she thought, to get a written explanation for McGonagall as to why her essay was now late. There would be no trouble at all, and everything would return to normal.

\------------------------------

On a span of grass near the lake, hidden from the view of prying eyes, Marietta gasped and awoke with a start. 

\------------------------------

Yes, thought Cho. Everything would be fine, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow my tumblr @thatkilljoyoverthere


	3. Nobody Ever Notices the Small Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience with the long update time! I had planned on making this a longer chapter than the previous two were, but school and life got in the way. I have some big plans for the future, and I promise that this fic won't be abandoned! I'll keep writing and updating when I can. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!! 
> 
> As always, comments are welcome and appreciated.

Some weeks passed, very much like all the weeks before them. Classes continued as normal, and it seemed as if the school had forgotten all about the incident that one fateful night. It was a bit odd that no one ever asked about Mariet-- The Sneak. Then again, did it really matter? As far as Cho was concerned, life had returned to normal- a bit emptier, perhaps, but normal. She was no longer part of the DA, as that little phase of her life was over, but she found comfort in its absence. Things had changed, and Cho among them.

It had been quite some time since she had gotten a good night's sleep, had worn makeup, had cared about her appearance; it had been a long time, a bit too long, really, since Cho had cared about anything at all. The emptiness was, of course, just a side effect of the death of Cedric, of the unresolved feelings, of the unanswered questions, of the unfulfilled possibilities. And yet, ever since the duel with The Sneak, those feelings had begun to fade away, like stones worn smooth by a stream over time. Cedric had been someone in her life once, but he was gone now, and Cho had no excuse to be a vessel for misery anymore. She began to see, for the first time in months, just how much she had let herself waste away. 

It wasn't until one morning, several weeks- or was it months- later when Cho looked in the mirror that she began to realize this. It was not so much a look as it was a realization of the passage of time and its associated hardships. The girl in the mirror looked haunted; there were ghosts where her eyes once sparkled with light; there were deep shadows in the hollows of her cheeks, of her eyes, that appeared to dance in the low light of the room. Her hair, formerly smooth and lustrous, appeared to glow eerily in the light of the sun as it filtered through the curtains, as if it possessed a bioluminescence of its own, and Cho grimaced in spite of herself. 

She had been awake for hours now, unable to sleep when it was so dreadfully cold here, the kind of cold that even a roaring fire shied away from. She felt a tightening in her throat, a sure signal that tears were soon to come, and swallowed quickly in a futile attempt to bite back them back. When had this happened? She'd known it was bad, that she hadn't weathered the news well, but she had never envisioned this. When had the monsters invaded her body? This girl in the mirror couldn't be- wasn't- Cho. Cho was better than this- she was strong, she was beautiful, she was brilliant. She wasn't this wraith, this girl who looked more like the figment of a nightmare than a real person. A wry smile crossed her face, and when her lips parted, she half expected her teeth to have rotted out by now, judging by the looks of the rest of her body. 

She wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, silently vowing that she would never let this happen again. She would not cry. She would not fall. She would rise, and she would be triumphant over all the heretics who had lobbed metaphorical fruit at her from across the courtyard. She was Cho, and she would not be defeated by the nagging voices in her head. She was Cho, and she was back in business. Eyeliner pen in hand, she dried her eyes and slowly painted her eyelids with black, sealing a deal she hadn't even known she had made.

*

It was in the weak sunlight of an early dawn that Marietta returned to existence. It had been some time, she knew, since she was no longer enveloped by the light of the moon. Yet this was not a day worthy of a storybook opening; the cold bit through her thin robes like so many poisoned daggers, and the dreary grey of the sky bespoke to heartache more than anything else. A bird twittered in a tree across the way, the sudden noise enough to break whatever faint thoughts she had possessed in the previous moment, enough to bring her back to the searing pain from the remains of her forehead. 

Marietta limped over to the lake, a bit dazed, more than a little unsure of what had happened. It was all she could do to maintain her balance, and even then it was only luck that prevented her from falling headfirst into the depths. It was agony just to stand, but she wanted something to ease the pain. She would have done just about anything to rid herself of it, but the intensity only seemed to increase. Surely it would have to stop at some point, but she wasn't sure she wanted to find out when that point would be, or what would happen if she reached it. As it was, thinking grew harder with every second that passed. 

The trees that had so peacefully lined the shore before now loomed above her menacingly, like dark guardians who sought nothing more than to maim and kill. The sky was closing in on her, the grass and pebbles beneath her feet were turning to embers, and her legs were on fire, and she was burning, and- 

A single thought broke through the cacophony of paranoia of a few heartbeats ago, a silent plea for help. She felt something warm begin to trickle into her eyes, and knew that soon her own blood would blind her if she did not act to stop it. It was in this brief moment of clarity that she managed to summon her wand from where it had lain on the ground a few feet away with a strained Accio, and it was in this moment that she more stumbled than twirled into a desperate Apparition with only the vaguest hope that it would take her far away from here. The uncomfortable squeezing sensation so common to such travel felt more like suffocation from the smoke of the flames that had licked at her feet, but through some unspoken promise, through some unknown benevolence, she closed her eyes into blissful black and faded into nothingness as her body disappeared with a wink from the bloody shore by the lake. With no one any the wiser but the forgotten bird in the tree, it was as if Marietta had ceased to exist at Hogwarts, and as the bird flew off, so too did any remaining hope that some force would make things right again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow my tumblr @thatkilljoyoverthere


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